Review: ★Twisted★ by @cariquinn and @TarynElliottFic

Gray Duffy never thought he’d end up as the co-lead guitarist of Oblivion, one of the hottest rock bands in the country. Even better? He’s sharing the experience with his best friend, Jazz. Since the day she’d showed up as his family’s new foster kid, Gray has protected her. Loved her. And not just platonically either. After all these years of wanting her in his bed, he still doesn’t know what it would be like to have her mouth on his.

Except for that one time. The time he’d shared her with Nick. The best worst night of his life.

Now they’re living their dream. They’re making music together and spending every waking moment trapped in tight quarters. With success at their fingertips, the time is right for him to finally make his move toward the woman he needs.

He just never figured he would lose control. Or that she would find out.

They’ve loved each other through everything. But what if this time love just isn’t enough?

He could do anything, survive anything, but he couldn’t turn away from Jazz. She would sustain him where every other drug had failed.

It’s no secret that I’m a huge fan of both of these authors, and I have been an even bigger fan of this series since i first read the prequel novella, Seduced. I fell hard for the boys of Oblivion and admittedly, Gray and Jazz’s story is the one that peaked my interest the most. You have long time friends, unrequited (or is it?) love, and oh so much angst. I mean, does it get any more delicious than that? Not for me.

They’ve loved each other through everything. But what if this time love just isn’t enough.

Gray has always been the quiet one of the guys. But you know what they say about the quiet ones, don’t you?

Jazz first met Gray when she was just 14 and he was 16. After years of being in the system, Jazz was thrilled to be fostered by Gray’s parents. All she’s dreamed of is being adopted, having a family of her own. And the Jazz of the present, years later, holds on to that same dream. Only this time, it’s not parents that she wants, but her dream husband, children, a happy life. And the only man that she can see that with doesn’t seem to share her feelings. But oh how little she knows…

Deep down, he still had a niggle of hope that things could change. That one day she’d stop looking at him as her best friend and see him as more.

If you’ve read the novella then you know that months ago Gray and Jazz made a colossal mistake in their friendship…a threesome with Nick.

It was all about timing, she’d told him once. Without it, it was impossible to keep the beat going. And theirs was always fucking wrong.

Now many people may not understand why either Gray or Jazz agreed to something like that, but I did. Gray is in such a dark place, that when he sees what may be his one and only chance to have Jazz, he takes it, no matter how small it may be. And Jazz has loved Gray for so long thinking that he doesn’t return her feelings that using Nick as a buffer finally allows her to have that piece of him that she’s always wanted…if only for a few moments. But that one night, that one decision changes everything…

This is not your typical rock star romance. It’s so much more. It’s gritty and emotional and with just the perfect amount of angst.

I knew from the very beginning I would love Gray, and I was not wrong even a little. He’s such a tortured character and my heart absolutely broke for him.

When Gray realizes that he may have lost any chance with Jazz after seeing something he wasn’t meant to see, he turns his addiction for her into a different one. A much more dangerous one. He soon begins to lose himself in a haze of cocaine and music.

But Jazz is determined to show him that he’s everything she wants, and now she’ll stop at nothing to make sure he sees her as more than a friend.

This is very much a character driven story, and there’s one thing that Cari and Taryn do a phenomenal job at; character development. Wow oh wow. These authors are incredibly talented and their ability to make you feel the characters’ inner turmoil and emotion along with them absolutely blew me away.

The story is told in alternate flashbacks from past to present. I’m not typically a fan of that, however in the case here, it was done extremely well. And it also weaved into the larger picture of the story effortlessly. Trickle feeding Gray and Jazz’s past to the reader in the way that they did as the story in the present progressed only made it that much better.

You really get to see and understand why both of them make the decisions that they do.

I adore a great friends to lovers romance, and this ticked off all my YES boxes.

While this book does have a HEA, it’s clear that their story is far from finished, so I’m happy to see a follow up book for them. I can definitely understand why two books are needed for Jazz and Gray. Their story is just too much for one book. And I for one cannot wait to see how it all develops.

If you’re a fan of this series, then this book is a must read. And if you haven’t read it yet, and you like angsty and super sexy romances, then you NEED to check it out. While each book may be read as a standalone, I wouldn’t recommend it. You really get a much better feel for all the characters if you read it in order, prequel included.

This series has been on my auto buy list since book one, and this book just goes to prove exactly why